Alexander I of Switzerland
Alexander I of Switzerland (Alexander James Kroshbon; 24 September 1717) is, and has been King of the Swiss from 18 December 1747 until the present day. He is also concurrently the Duke of Bern, since his reign began, and the Archbishop of Switzerland. He is the fourth Swiss monarch from the House of Kroshbon. The extent of the Swiss Kingdom under his reign has reached it's largest size to date, becoming a major central European power, and elevating the influence of both the Kingdom and the House of Kroshbon. However, his methods of expansion have all been exclusively through diplomatic methods, and the Swiss have never gone to war in the name of expansion under his reign. The first Swiss path to the sea, a goal of the nation since the years of William II, was established by Alexander, via Venice and Genoa. Early Life Birth and Early Childhood Alexander was born James Alexander Kroshbon on September 24 1717, to Tyler Kroshbon, and Rose Macmorgan. His parents were not married at the time, however they both came from very prestigious families. His father, Tyler, was the Head of the House of Kroshbon, a Noble Family that had a 200 year old history. His mother, Rose, was the daughter of Lord Benjamin Macmorgan, who had served as the Lord Marshal of the British East India Company in the final years of the seventeenth century. After his birth, he was raised by his mother and visited daily by his father. His mother's manor was located within the city on Tortuga Isle, and hence James would often wander out of the property gates and converse with the locals, traders, merchants, and other city-dwellers. Exile to the Yucatan Penninsula When James turned his 16th year of age, his mother was discovered to be a traitor to the Swiss crown, holding alliegence to the Norwegians. Lord Tyler Kroshbon, James' father and the Prime Minister at the time, reluctantly exiled her after a prosecution team lead by Admiral Christopher Ironshot proved that she was the traitor. Lord Tyler resolved to send James with his mother to the Yucatan as he felt he could not serve as a proper father to James. Thus James and his mother were sent to the Yucatan Penninsula and he stayed there for 7 years with his mother. When he turned 23, he decided that he should travel back to Switzerland to continue his education, and thus he gave his goodbyes to his mother and travelled to Zurich, Switzerland where he studied at the University of Zurich. He also officially changed his name from James to Alexander, taking on his middle name as his first name. Return to Switzerland Early Career After graduating from the University of Zurich in 1745, Alexander returned to Berne where he was subsequently appointed as Minister of Foreign Relations by his father. In his absence, his father had taken on a wife named Lisa Seawinds and fathered a son and a daughter, Prince Richard Kroshbon and Princess Rose Kroshbon. He had also sired a bastard, Prince Benjamin Kroshbon, who was Crown Prince at the time. Alexander worked tirelessly to reform the Foreign Ministry to its best extent. He became a very close confidant of his fathers and eventually delivered the King's Speech of 1746, which is commonly viewed as the First Amendment to the Swiss Constitution. Eventually Benjamin I was sidelined from the succession due to opening negotiations with Jack Daggerstealker while acting as regent. Alexander was thus appointed as Crown Prince and Heir Apparent to the thone. He continued to hold this position throughout the Swiss Civil War, despite Benjamin's return to Switzerland and his sack of Jura. After the war was over, Alexander continued to serve as Crown Prince and was sent on several stately visits, as well as travelling around to manage his father's estate, in his ill health. Death of William II On August 18, 1746, King William finally succumbed to his illness and his Will was read aloud at Berne Abbey. Alexander was sidelined as well, due to his lack of military experience, and David Yellowfish Kroshbon, an adoptive son of Tyler, was named as King of Switzerland. Alexander was not terribly fazed by this and journeyed to Alexandria, Egypt, to become a scholar. Rise to Power Swiss Confederation Alexander travelled to Berlin upon news that John Scotsman had usurped the throne of Prussia from Alexander's adoptive brother, David Kroshbon. The new King appointed Alexander as Duke of Switzerland and promised him eventual independence. Within two weeks, Alexander also replaced the Premier of Prussia, Bomani Alexander, and begun to deal with affairs of the Prussian state. He held this position for around a month, before John Scotsman abdicated the throne and Alexander declared Swiss independence once more, this time under a new government. Alexander established a new government system under a ruler titled the Kopf. This complex government mirrored the former Swiss monarchy, but gave stronger powers to the Tagsatzung, the Swiss Parliament. The system was the first of its kind and very organized, but hard to put into affect. After several months of ruling as the Kopf, Alexander could tell that the Swiss government simply was not effective enough under the Confederation, and resolved that if he could not fix the Confederation, then the only choice would be to restore the monarchy. Restoration of the Monarchy On December 18, 1747 during a ball in Koniz Castle, Switzerland, Alexander declared that he was restoring the monarchy and nobility of Switzerland. He was met with the cheers of many former nobles, and congratulated by the dignataries present. There was minor unrest through the cantons, but ultimately the decision to restore the monarchy and end the semi-functional Confederation gave a unifying burst throughout the nation. Alexander almost immediately stepped aside and took a vacation to his summer estate in Florence, in order to prepare himself further to take on Kingship of the nation. While he was there he unfortunately contracted an illness, however, that left him in a terrible state for the spring of 1748. He appointed Genevieve de' Adelaide, a suitor, as his regent, for unknown reasons, and it is commonly believed that this was due to the effects that the illness had on him. Adelaide herself took on a new cabinet, with Sir Mathieu Venables as Prime Minister, his older brother Sir Richard as Minister of Defense, and her brother Sir Sebastian Spark as Minister of State. She ruled for 5 and a half months until Alexander returned from Florence and took control of the Kingdom once more. He dismissed the entire cabinet, save for Sir Richard, who had been prominent since his father's rule. Sir Josef Grau, the Count of St. Gallen, was the Chief Advisor at this time and took over many of the tasks normally assigned to the Prime Minister. Switzerland was very quiet for the remainder of the year, with no large events happening until Alexander called the First Annual Prime Minister election to order in January of 1749. Expansion Period Alexander called the first annual elections in January, and four candidates immediately announced their candidacy; Lord Jozef Kohleschmied, Sir Mathieu Pitcairn, Lord Jon Kroshbon, and Sir William Keelspinner. The election was instantly historic, with Lord Jozef Kohleschmied coming out victorious after defeating Sir William Keelspinner in the main election. Lord Kohleschmied instantly went about composing his second cabinet, first appointing Sir Edmond Stark as Minister of State. Alexander and Kohleschmied's other plans for the new government consisted of initiating a rapid expansion of the Swiss teritories, through legal and peaceful methods. Negotiations were almost immediately held with the then Doge of Venice, Grunt Ermmano, for the annexation of Venice by Switzerland. The Swiss then shifted over to begin negotiations with Genoa, under Doge Gian Francesco Sale, and Lucca, which was under Doge Guglielmo de' Medici and managed to obtain a treaty of annexation from both parties. There were minor disputes over the Luccan annexation with Giovanni de' Medici, a cousin of the then Doge, however the tensions were resolved when Medici was appointed as Viceroy of Lucca. He was also later appointed the Minister of State for Switzerland by Lord Jozef. War of Sardinian Succession Invasion of Piedmont On the 14th of July, 1749, Ishmael Emmanuel Decksteel I, King of Sardinia, declared himself Emperor of Italy, and claimed every Italian state from the Vatican to Genoa. Austria and Switzerland immediately declared war on Ishmael, with Poland following soon after. 50,000 Swiss soldiers under the command of Lord Jozef Kohleschmied departed from the capital to launch an invasion of Sardinian Piedmont. King Alexander carefully planned the methods that would be used to collapse the regime of the "Mad King of Sardinia". Lord Kohleschmied achieved a great victory when he seized the historical capital of Sardinia, Turin, and raised the Swiss banners on it, but defeat came soon after as a surprise attack under the command of the King's brother, Lord Ivan Decksteel, routed the Swiss army under Lord Kohleschmied and took him prisoner. Alexander immediately called his court members to order and appointed Sir Giovanni de' Medici as the Acting Prime Minister. Sir Medici was ordered to set sail from Lucca with an army of 30,000 that would meet up with the remainder of the original Swiss force under Lord Jon Kroshbon. Medici campaigned hard in Piedmont, and chased Ishmael Emmanuel to Nice, where a small skirmish was fought, before Decksteel fled across the sea to Sardinia. The Invasion of Piedmont was declared complete, and plans began to invade Sardinia itself. Alexander worked with Sir Jon Kroshbon to form the Swiss Invasion Fleet in Genoa, and prepared it to sail to Sardinia. End of the War & Treaty of Turin Ishmael assumed command over his forces that had occupied Rome. However, when the Duke of Edinburgh arrived with his army, Decksteel decided to retreat back to Sardinia, abandoning Rome. When he reached Cagliari, and realized that the Swiss had already landed in Sassari, and that the Austrians would be pursuing him from Rome, he decided to flee the nation, heading towards Africa. Lord Ivan Decksteel, brother to the King, was left in command of the last defense of Cagliari, but was captured when coalition forces took the city. He was later executed for war crimes, for his actions at the Second Siege of Turin. Immediately after the war ended, Alexander travelled to Turin, where a peace conference was to be held to partition Sardinia. Commencement talks were largely unproductive, however, and diplomats continued to work on a peace treaty that would placate the two nations. Eventually on the third of March 1750, Alexander met with Maria Theresa and the Duke of Edinburgh once more, in Koniz, where an agreement was met that led to the Treaty of Turin. Alexander now had a solid, well connected route to the sea, and started to make plans for the return to the West Indies. The Game of Thrones 1750 Keeping with his oath that he had made a year earlier, Alexander called the second annual General Election to order. Though there lingered some doubts, due to the chaos of the last election, this election ran smoothly, and Lord Jozef Kohleschmied suffered his first political defeat, losing Premiership to Sir Jon Kroshbon, the Count of Valais. Kroshbon, a cousin to the King, laid out his plan for the coming months and return to the Caribbean, which was accepted by Alexander. Many advocates of democracy praised the election, and it's outcome, which led to the opposition party coming to power for the first time in 12 years, since the Swiss People's Party came to power. The new leadership by the Swiss Progressive Party led to a more liberal approach by the government. The new government's first notable accomplishment came in March at the signing of the Treaty of Turin. Prospects seemed high for Switzerland, yet the appointment of untested individuals led to dire consequences. On March 18th, after the King issued a proclomation nationalizing the military and forbidding them to hold positions within other states, Sir Jon Kroshbon submitted his resignation and defected to Denmark. The entire nation was immediately taken aback by this sudden and unexpected action. Sir Jon, who was the King's closest cousin, penned an open letter to the Swiss government accusing them of being corrupt and having been "liberated" by the King of Denmark, Kwagar Ocata. Fury grew within the Swiss populace, and there was much protest in the streets. The heavy outcry against the Danish King led Alexander to summon the Danish embassy to Koniz and formally expelled them from Switzerland while also severing the Treaty of Koniz that was signed the year before, which had normalized relations between Switzerland and Denmark. Alexander moved to appoint the top Minister, Giovanni de' Medici, as Prime Minister, but was shocked to learn that he had journeyed to the Caribbean and taken up arms with the proto-state Republic of Nassau. There were immediate calls for Medici's head in the Tagsatzung, and Alexander finally re-appointed Lord Jozef Kohleschmied as Prime Minister, due to the Progressive Party having essentially fallen apart due to the resignation of their entire leadership. A young and ambitious politician, Prince Samuel Clemente, eventually took charge of the Progressives, and was appointed Minister of State, joining a coalition government with Lord Kohleschmied. The entire ordeal led to the Swiss returning to a state of isolationism, and generally withdrawing from international affairs. Criticism of the annual general elections also returned, with many blaming the low voter turnout and debate methods allowing Sir Jon to sweep the elections. June Crisis The new government immediately ordered a complete restructure of the Ministry of State. Prince Samuel Clemente of Spain, the new Minister, was tasked with completely revamping the Swiss' foreign affairs. He began by dismissing all ambassadors to non-allied states. The Minister also appointed new ambassadors to the Swiss' allies, including Lord Jozef Grau to Britain, Lord Jozef Kohleschmied to France, and himself to Haven. Prince Richard Kroshbon also began to take part in the government, and was appointed Interior Minister, given the task of both reorganizing the military with new Defense chief, Giorgio Clemente, and coordinating the return to the Caribbean in a few months time. Ultimately, Prince Samuel betrayed the Swiss and sold Swiss secrets to the Spanish government, resulting in an international incident that was pacified by British officials. Alexander responded by dismissing the entire Cabinet at once, and ordered Lord Kohleschmied to form a new government. The assistance of British envoy, Sir John Firebreaker, was also of large assistance to the Swiss following the whistleblowing incident. The Swiss Progressive Assembly was devastated by this second betrayal by one of its leaders, and effectively lost all control it had in government. The Swiss populace no longer had any faith in the Progressives, which resulted in the SPP being propelled back to power, under the leadership of Prime Minister Kohleschmied. After speaking with both King Ferdinand and Presidente Leonardo, the June Crisis came to a quick and quiet close. Alexander was eager to put the entire event behind the Swiss, and focus on the future. He ordered the reorganization of the esteemed Armed Guard, and begin to reform the Swiss military. In Late July, news came of the ousting of the Syndicate government in Spain. The King there, Ferdinand Clemente, had deposed Presidente Leonardo and exiled him for treason against the crown. Alexander immediately rode for Ferdinand's war camp on the isle of Tortuga, where all of the generals of Spain were rallying behind their King. He recognized Ferdinand's royalist cause, and denounced the Syndicate government for their role in attempting to bring war on the Swiss. TBA Alexander's push to recreate the Armed Guard proved extremely successful, and was greatly credited in returning the Swiss to international power. In September 1750, Alexander was key in calling The Great Council of 1750, which led to new pledges to the Swiss-Spanish-British coalition that had been formed at the collapse of the Syndicate. The result was the Royal Coalition, touted to be the pinnacle of the "Pax Britannia" which had persisted in Europe since the final defeat of Phillip V Clemente after the Imperio War, and consisting of the three world powers. However, it did not enjoy continued opertational success, as differences between the powers hampered its efficiency. The first break in ties was when the Swiss reached an agreement with "Undead Rebels", a pirate guild, to abstain from Swiss waters, infuriating Spain and annoying Britain. After the Undead Rebels went to war against the Anglo-Spanish flotilla, the Swiss broke off all ties, however. The second, came alongside the dissolution of the Denmark-Norway empire that had encompassed the entirety of Scandinavia, in which both the Swiss and Spanish supported Duke Bjorn IV of Gotland as King of Sweden. This causes a break with Great Britain, which supported the government led by Emperor Kwagar Ocata. Eventually, at the threat of a Spanish-Swiss invasion, Emperor Kwagar abdicated the throne, dividing his Empire in two, one half to Bjorn and the other unclaimed. The third, and most major, break came only weeks later, after Lord Gustav Dreadre, Swiss Minister of State and presumptive Prime Minister, betrayed his nation and fled, taking several important Privy Council officials with him, as well as Princess Sarah Kroshbon, Minister of Defense and wife to Prince Ezequiel Clemente of Spain. This was a major blow to Alexander's morale, an event which he regarded as his third major betrayal, and left him reclusive to many, even his beloved wife. At this point he began to confide in his nephew and heir, Prince Ryan, solely, even appointing him as Prime Minister of the Kingdom. Co-ruling in a sense alongside Prince Ryan Kroshbon in the early months of 1751, King Alexander would eventually return to Castle Koniz in February of 1751, extending his own full executive abilities to be held in trust by Prince Ryan and his Cabinet, allowing the Swiss government to essentially run itself like a machine with the King's ever increasing absences, all the while continuing to operate and move forward on the basis of Alexander's agenda and desires. Prince Ryan's government, however, would collapse a few months later, and by May 1751, the Cabinet collectively decided to impeach Prince Ryan, and remove him from the Cabinet. The Prince departed Switzerland, taking his paramour, Catherine Garland, and taking up residence in Russia. When the news reached Alexander, he returned to the Royal Palace in Berne, where he confirmed Lord Azreel Polemos as the new Prime Minister, and designated his influential sister, Princess Rose Kroshbon, as his heir in violation of the Swiss Constitution, by Royal Decree. Strife and Peace Reassuming Command Titles, Styles, Honors, and Arms Titles and Styles *24 September 1717 - 25 August 1738: Mr. James Alexander Kroshbon *11 October 1738 - 19 June 1745: His Highness, Prince Alexander Wolf Kroshbon *19 June 1745 - 17 August 1746: His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince *17 August 1746 - 26 June 1747: Lord Alexander James Kroshbon *26 June 1747 - 8 July 1747: His Grace, the Prime Minister of Prussia *8 July 1747 - 18 December 1747: His Excellency, the Kopf of Switzerland *18 December 1747 - present day: His Majesty, the King of the Swiss Alexander used the official style of Alexander the First, By the Grace of God, King of the Swiss and Helvetia; Duke of Savoy, of Greece, of Berne, of Zürich, of Genoa, of Lombardy, and of Corsica; Count of Lucca, of Lucerne, of Uri, of Schwyz, of Unterwalden, of Zug, of Glarus, of Basel, of Fribourg, of Solothurn, of Schaffhausen, of Appenzell, of Saluzzo, of Montferrat, of Aosta, of Moriana, of Nice, and of Crete; Archbishop of Venice, of Athens, of Turin, of Genoa and Bishop of Basel, of Chur, of Laussanne, Geneva, and Fribourg, of Sassari, of Cagliari, of Lucca, of Trento; Commander-in-Chief of the Swiss Armies and Navies, Lord Marshal of the Swiss Guard, Chancellor of the University of Zürich, and regally appointed Head of the Royal House of Kroshbon. His permanent short style was “Your Majesty”. Honors and Arms *Second Grandmaster of the Order of St. Nicholas of Flue Medici Family - POTCO.gif|The personal arms of King Alexander, passed down from his father. e6a9a9a9e54a375c82e2c4ff9407310b.jpg|The permanent Coat of Arms of the House of Kroshbon HouseKroshbon.png|The secondary arms of the House of Kroshbon, designed by William II. Personal Life Early in his rule, at the First Annual Swiss Christmas Ball, he met a young Genevieve de Adelaide, daughter of Albert Spark of Romania, he was instantly infatuated with her, and she became a regular lady of the court. They privately agreed to become engaged, yet soon later she married the British Prime Minister and would leave him months later for the King of Denmark. Alexander did not take another mistress for several years after this. On the 6th of September 1750, four years after taking the throne, King Alexander announced his engagement to Lady Maddison Machawk. He elevated the House of Machawk to Swiss nobility by creating her father, Eric Machawk as Count of Glarus, in order to make her eligible to become his bride. On the 24th of September, 1750, King Alexander was wed to Lady Maddison Machawk in a ceremony attended by Lord Governor of the East India Company, Sir William Brawlmartin, King of Spain Ferdinand Clemente, and Empress Maria Theresa Bluefeather of Austria, among others. She was crowned Queen of the Swiss and Duchess of Bern soon after. In July of 1751, after the Queen had been living in London for several months, and had an affair with a British colonel, the Royal Palace finalized a divorce between the King and Queen. Category:Switzerland Category:People